You Won’t Believe Who Harvard Business School Rejected This Month

Mr. NASA

• 780 GMAT
• 3.8 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in math from Stanford University
• Work experiences includes two years at one of the top three global consulting firms, M/B/B, and current managing a strategy team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Extracurricular involvement launching a nonprofit two years ago focused on empowering at-risk you through STEM workshops and classes, with four schools and more than 1,000 students involved
• Goal: To return to aerospace/defense in a more substantial role

  Would be a sponsored MBA student

• 25-year-old male, mixed New Zealand Maori & white

Sandy’s Analysis: Not sure what happened to you.

I wonder what your title and role is at the Jet Propulsion Lab? The fact that you are sponsored makes one believe it was solid and not some contract work?

Another important question is what is the record of JPL in sending kids to business schools and HBS. Generally, adcoms like to have some history or track record with acceptances from companies. It gives them some comfort. You’re the first dude from there I ever met, although after looking it up, it seems impressive.

On limited info, the typical ways this leads to a ding is that you propose goals that do not require an MBA and/or you misconstrue what the MBA is. Another possibility here is that the essay is damaging in some radical way (not likely given your post), or your recommendations are damaging (very rare, as opposed to being just so-so which you might have survived).

If no one from JPL typically applies to B-school, that is one important fact, although not in itself a full explanation.

Long story short, I dunno why HBS wouldn’t interview you.